Many current art compressed gas dispensers, particularly the models manufactured by Genuine Innvations, Inc, in Tucson, Ariz. U.S.A. are manufactured to dispense a non-threaded neck compressed gas cartridge, a threaded neck compressed gas cartridge or capable of dispensing both cartridge species within the same dispense.
One feature of current art compressed gas dispensers is a lance housing that has been used in part to contain the high pressure from a compressed gas cartridge. Historically, lance housings have been manufactured from metal such as brass. A lance housing also provides an excellent recess or pocket for a seal that is used to contain the compressed gas in a lanced cartridge. A lance housing can feature internal threads that are used to mate with a compressed gas cartridge also exhibiting a threaded portion. A lance housing sometimes exhibits no threads to mate with a compressed gas cartridge.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,388 by Hollars titled Compressed gas cartridge dispensing system allowing interchangeable use of different capacity compressed gas cartridges and novel storage feature teaches some methods of how a non-threaded neck compressed gas cartridge can be dispensed as well as teaches an additional method of how a threaded neck compressed gas cartridge can be dispensed. Additionally, the terminology from the U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,388 is carried over into this application in an effort to maintain consistency for ease of understanding. FIGS. 1-7 PRIOR-ART are borrowed directly from the U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,388 to exemplify common designs and uses of compressed gas cartridge lance housings.
Common types of lance housings such as exemplified in FIG. 1 PRIOR-ART illustrate an internally threaded exemplary lance housing 44 and in FIG. 2 PRIOR-ART illustrate a non-threaded exemplary lance housing 44′. Threaded lance housing 44 illustrated in FIG. 1 PRIOR-ART will accept a compressed gas cartridge 33 exhibiting a comparable male thread on its cartridge neck used to threadably draw cartridge 33 into the piercing lance. Exemplified in FIG. 3 PRIOR-ART is male threaded compressed gas cartridge 33 threaded into internally threaded lance housing 44 as part of dispenser head 23. Slightly visible in FIG. 3 PRIOR-ART is a piercing lance that has been drawn into the puncture surface of the compressed gas cartridge as a result of the threaded connection thus the compressed gas cartridge has been harnessed or lanced.
Additionally, threaded lance housing 44 can be used to dispense a non-threaded neck compressed gas cartridge 49 of one volume and 49′ of a greater volume with the use of a cartridge-retaining container 22 as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 PRIOR-ART. Both FIGS. 4 and 5 PRIOR-ART are borrowed from the U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,388. The compressed gas cartridge neck portion in both FIGS. 4 and 5 PRIOR-ART are small enough in diameter thus allowing the non-threaded necks to clear threaded lance housing portion 44 without an interference fit.
Non-threaded lance housing 44′ exemplified in FIG. 2 PRIOR-ART is illustrated with a cartridge-retaining container 22 threadably attached in FIGS. 6 and 7 PRIOR-ART and will accept a compressed gas cartridge by incorporating cartridge-retaining container 22 to draw the cartridge into the piercing lance. FIGS. 6 and 7 PRIOR-ART exemplify two different capacity compressed gas cartridges 49 and 49′ exhibiting non-threaded necks. A cartridge typically increases in length and diameter as the internal volume increases.
One United States patent that exemplifies the background relating to the present invention is U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,670 titled Inflation device for an inflatable article of manufacture and adaptor therefore by Philips et al. Applicant is a co-inventor on this patent as well. The technology in this patent has been common since as early as 1993. FIG. 8 PRIOR-ART is borrowed from the Philips et al. patent and illustrates a side view cross-section exemplary dispensing device. The relevant text in the Philips et al. specification to this figure states the following: “ . . . lance supporting member 44 includes a cylindrical extension 43 which defines an interior area 45.” This is an excellent example of a prior-art non-threaded lance housing that represents how the industry has designed and manufactured lance housings.
The lance housing has traditionally provided means for mounting a cartridge piercing lance as well as providing a recess for a compressed gas cartridge face seal, neck seal, or combination of both. A typical compressed gas cartridge piercing lance is made from steel, perhaps hardened, and is press-fit into a void within a lance housing. Current practice utilizes both solid lance designs and hollow lance designs with reliable success. Also common is to insert a brass lance housing into an injection molded dispensing head and retain the lance housing in place with hardware such as a roll pin or utilize one-way barb features on the outside of a lance housing.
The present invention minimizes the assembly time of a dispenser head. Additional features are integrated into a molded dispenser head thus requiring fewer components to accomplish a useable dispenser thus reducing manufacturing costs. Reliance on conformable plastic allows for relaxed dimensional tolerances. This method of making a dispenser head can equally apply to threaded or non-threaded lance housings.
Prior-art lance housings are mostly realized as providing a bore that a puncturing lance presses into resulting in a lance is contained in the metal of a lance housing. Additionally, a retaining undercut pocket has traditionally been machined into a lance housing to locate the compressed gas cartridge seal.
The present invention illustrates an exemplary mounting of a compressed gas cartridge puncturing lance in the main housing of a dispensing head. Additionally, a compressed gas cartridge seal retaining undercut is created by the insertion of a rigid seal retaining element into a molded dispensing head. One obvious advantage to this method of manufacturing a compressed gas cartridge seal pocket by the insertion of a retaining element is that a molder would find molding a feature difficult or impossible. Typically, injection molding retaining undercuts such as described is not a moldable feature.
The following embodiments will describe the afore-mentioned prior-art and the present invention. Additionally, with the aid of figures, one skilled in the art will be able to understand and appreciate the embodiments to follow.